The Gods’ reign is near an end in this great conclusion to the God of War series

The world is falling apart around him but, he doesn’t care. All Kratos wants is his revenge against the Gods.

Kratos has returned to leave a path of destruction in the third installment of Sony’s high octane action series God of War III for the Playstation 3(PS3). Developers, SCE Studios Santa Monica have done an outstanding job with this game as it’s a visual masterpiece that was born for the PS3. Along with polished game controls, a beautiful soundtrack, epic boss battles and well driven story combined makes God of War III a great sendoff to the Ghost of Sparta’s bloody but tragic tale. This game is M rated for a great reason as there are gallons of blood and gore spilled with the intense punishments Kratos dishes out. This game is not for children for those reasons and shouldn’t be given to minors.

The story picks up where the second game left off. Kratos is leading an army of Titans up Mount Olympus to challenge his Father Zeus and the other Gods. However, things are not simple as once again Kratos is double crossed, but this time by the Titans and is sent back to the underworld. Down, but not out, Kratos dusts himself off and continues his march towards Zeus while taking anybody out that get his way.

The graphics of this game are just incredible as it is one of the most cinematic looking games to ever appear for any current generation consoles. SCE Studios promised us massive scale and beautiful detail to the world around the angry Spartan and they delivered. The first ten minutes of the game places us in a massive boss battle against Poseidon that dwarfs the Kraken in the second game. God of War III keeps it going with an even bigger boss battle against the titan Cronos and he is truly massive as Kratos looks no bigger than a flea.

The game play is the same as the last two games but this is what makes God of War great as the controls are simple to learn. The flow of combat is flawless in this game as you transfer from attacking to dodging effortlessly. SCE has made a couple of good tweaks to the game play as more enemies appear on screen and the quick time events won’t hinder the visual as the buttons has been moved to the sides of the screen. The choices of weapons in this game are improved as you can seamlessly change weapons in the heat of battle. However the weapons are not diverse as three of weapons are chain blades.

The soundtrack to God of War III adds even more to the artistic scope this game presents. It influences your emotions as you go form fast pace action to a few soft moments throughout the narritive.

This game has it faults as the replay ability as there is no multiplayer like you see in other games. Also, the story at times felt like a soap opera so a little revision couldn’t have hurt. However, this is only minor and doesn’t hurt the overall play and feel of the game. Despite the violence of the game, God of War III is a must have for any action fan looking for some straight out fighting and anyone that likes a solid story.

Whenever I see a beautiful piece of artwork, I stop to analysis the brilliant masterpiece the artist worked hard in bringing to life. I always find myself amazed at the incredible detail and depth the artist has placed into his or her work. Art is everywhere we look and one place where I find art is in video games. I believe video games can be art because they are visual representations that are created by our minds and our souls and they are not made in a vacuum.

One video game that comes to mind when I think of art is the Playstation 3 network game Journey. It was created by thatgamecompany, who are responsible for other Playstation 3 titles such as Flow and Flower. The game has a plot despite no voice acting, but this game has no need for it. In it, you are a nomad trekking across at a massive dessert and then you climb a snowcapped mountain where this light is located. Your goal is to get to this beacon on top of the mountain. There are no enemies to kill or any maidens to save; all you have to do is get to this light. You do have two hurdles in your way and they are a flying serpent and the mountain which can strike our wanderer down with its fierce wind and cold temperatures.

While getting to this light is the goal, I found myself taking my time as I couldn’t stop searching in the environment I had at my disposal. The deserts were a wondrous sight to my eyes as the red hue with the pinkish red of the sky gave it a warm tone that reminded me of sunrise. Along with the old ruins I keep walking by gave me a feeling of awe that a game this small could have a large desert as far as the eye can see. The way our nomad’s scarf moved was art in itself. It gives the game an organic feel whenever I was floating in the air or when the cold wind was blowing. I felt I was in the environment which happens to me whenever I see a landscape painting.

The greatest part about Journey is how you reach the end. After succumbing to the cold elements, our hero is reborn by the gods and floats into a stage that can only be described as paradise. The crystal blue sky and the white snow were a mix of delight to my eyes and the scene of the nomad flying among the clouds and snow reminded me of an angel ascending to heaven. I have seen works of art that depict this scene many times and I wonder why they are considered art when this game is not consider art by the mainstream. I think it is time we really start considering that video games are more than just graphics. They are works of art that are an extension of our souls.

Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy is not a fighting game or an RPG as it is both genres in the same package. Square gives us a great game with loads of content and game play that will suck you in for hours on end; however the game falls short in two areas that prevent it from becoming a masterpiece.

Dissidia 012 is the prequel to the original 2009 hit and follows the same basic plot of good vs. evil. In the game’s universe, there is a conflict between the Goddess of Harmony known as Cosmos and the God of Discord known as Chaos. In order to fight their clash, they have summoned various warriors from all of the Final Fantasy worlds to fight. However, the warriors learn that this war is a never ending conflict that restarts so basically its limbo. The game’s story deals with the 12th cycle as the six new characters we are introduced to are fighting a losing battle against Chaos gallery of villains. All the old characters from the previous game are back from Cloud Strife to Kefka along with new characters including Kain, Tifa and Final Fantasy XIII protagonist Lighting join the brawl.

The game’s biggest flaw is the story itself as it falls flat and is uninteresting. The voice acting makes the story even weaker as a majority of the voice actors show little to any emotion making the story less believable. Some performances were good as the psycho clown Kefka gives a few chuckles and Golbez brings an impressive monologue to the game, but they are drowned out by the other lackluster performances. Square did make some improvements to the flow of story mode by allowing you to explore an open world environment between stages but that is the only major improvement made to the tale.

The soundtrack to the game is a real treat for Final Fantasy fans, but the voice acting and the PSP’s speakers hurt the overall sound of the game. You might need headphones to improve the quality of the sound. Thankfully these are the only things wrong with game.

The gameplay for 012 is mostly unchanged from the last game and this is a great thing. The controls are easy to learn and won’t require you to master hundreds of combos. Square added a few wrinkles into the fights as you can now get assistance from a partner if you are in a jam. Square does a great job with the roster as every fighter has a different fighting style. The graphics for 012 are beautiful and very strong on the PSP. The thing that will suck you in is the hours of content you will discover along with the replay ability as you try to get the characters to level 100. The game will keep giving you rewards with each accomplishment completed. For example, once you complete Cycle 12, you are rewarded with the cycle from the previous game and a chance to fight a secret boss.

While this game won’t appeal to hardcore fighting games, it will appeal to fans of the Final Fantasy series and to people who love handheld games. While this game’s story is dull and boring, the things you will find in this game will keep you busy for hours on end making this game worth the price.

I am a rookie running back ready to make my mark in the NFL. We have the Philadelphia Eagles coming and I am ready to run right through their defensive line. The Dawg pound cheers as my Quarterback hands the ball to me. I take the hand-off and I break a 25 yard run and the crowd is roaring in delight. I am Trent Richardson and I am looking to take the Cleveland Browns to the top.
I am actually not Trent Richardson; I am playing as him in Madden 13 newest feature, connected career. Long gone is franchise mode and superstar mode in previous titles of the game as EA has brought them together into one amazing experience that is appealing to all of the senses.
Connected career allows you many options that will attract not only new players to the game, but has enough to keep the hardcore Madden fans coming back for more. The mode gives you the option to of choosing to play as your favorite player or play as a coach and take complete control of the team. Once you have chosen how you want to play connected career, you are presented with the option of playing as an active coach, a hall of famer or you can just create your own player from there. I decided to play as an active player. I originally wanted to play as Dieon Sanders, but he was unavailable so I chose to play as Trent Richardson.

Once I got the difficult part of choosing who to play as, I dove right into the game. I tried practice mode but I stopped playing it after two times because it felt like a chore then actual fun. I also skipped the preseason because I could only play one quarter just like in the NFL’s real preseason.
My first regular season game was a success as I led the Browns to an upset over the Eagles 14-7. Trent ran for 159 yards and caught four passes for 72 yards and the game winning touchdown. As I was playing the game, I was impressed with the physics of the game. The Infinity Engine has made the game even more realistic as each tackle and hit I experienced was an artistic triumph in next generation graphics. I enjoyed my time looking at Madden 13. I just wish I played as Deion.